One year later
Time passed like a whirlwind. Everything was going great. Felix was studying at the sports department while working at the place Mike had arranged for him. For the past few months, they had been renting an apartment together close to the university.
Today was the first day we were relaxing at an oceanfront vacation home in Los Angeles. The house was uniquely nestled in the middle of a forest, surrounded by tall trees and the soothing sounds of nature. We talked about strange topics, and laughter filled the room endlessly. The alcohol made us goofy and carefree.
At one point, my friend had enough and drunkenly fell asleep in her boyfriend's arms. Mike announced he would carry her to bed and that he'd go to sleep too.
I was left alone in the living room with Felix, who continued sipping his beer while staring out the window.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked unexpectedly.
He shifted his gaze to me, looking confused for a moment.
"I just wonder what the future holds," he said slowly. "Time flies so fast. Not long ago, I was a child, and now I'm already twenty. It feels like we started dating yesterday, yet it's been two years. The more I think about the future, the more scared I become. Sometimes I'm afraid something will go wrong, that one wrong move will ruin my whole adulthood, leaving me restless and unhappy for life."
I looked at him carefully, fully understanding what he meant. I too was terrified of what adulthood might bring. I guessed everyone felt that fear at least once.
"The most important thing is that we have each other and support one another whenever we stumble," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder. "We survived so much as teenagers. As adults, we can handle anything."
"Do you really think so?"
"Of course. We just have to stay positive, live optimistically, and everything will be fine."
I wasn't sure if my words came from the heart, but I wanted to lift his spirits.
"I think this place is bad for my thoughts," Felix said, smiling at me. "I feel bad currents here."
His words made me laugh.
"Are you a shaman now?"
"I don't know. Maybe I come from a family of shamans. My mother was haunted."
The smile faded from my face when I realized he spoke of his mother in the past tense. That meant she was completely gone from his life, as if she had died.
"Shall we go to bed?"
"Sure, I think it's time to sleep."
*
The powerful thunder jerked me awake. I blinked toward the window and saw a storm raging outside. Raindrops hammered the glass, blurring the world beyond. Felix was restless beside me, mumbling incoherently in his sleep, sweat glistening on his forehead.
"I can't do it. I can't," he repeated, voice cracking.
I reached out, lightly shaking his shoulder. "Felix," I whispered, "it's okay. It's just a nightmare."
Slowly, his face softened, the tension melting away. He sank into peaceful sleep, and I curled up next to him, wrapping my arms around him.
The thunder grew louder, more ferocious. Just as I was drifting off again, I felt Felix shift. He moved away from me. I kept my eyes shut, pretending to sleep.
He slipped out of bed, and I cracked open my eyelids just enough to see him standing by the window. It was two in the morning.
Before he left the room, I quickly shut my eyes again, my heart pounding. After his footsteps faded toward the door, I silently followed.
Felix pulled on a hooded jacket and stepped out into the storm.
What was he thinking, going out in this weather? He moved like a man possessed.
Without hesitation, I grabbed my hoodie and ran after him. Cold raindrops stung my face as jagged lightning briefly lit the terrifying darkness around us. It was reckless, but I couldn't leave him alone tonight.
Felix led the way, his phone flashlight cutting a pale path through the woods. After a while, rain drenched me completely—I'd be sick for sure—but I pressed on.
I hid behind a tree as he stopped, shining his light on a single spot on the ground.
Thankful for the darkness, I crept closer, pressing myself against the rough bark.
"Coming back here was a bad idea," Felix muttered, "but I needed to see you."
The rain muffled most of his words, but I caught enough to freeze in place.
"I don't know how long I can keep hiding this, but I'm trying to live like you never existed." He tilted his face to the stormy sky, and a thunderclap made his shadow dance like a demon's. I covered my mouth, terrified.
"I punished you the way they punished me all my life. You deserved it. So I won't apologize—to you, Mom, or Dad. Don't haunt my dreams demanding it. You never apologized for destroying my life."
My legs buckled. I crouched, clutching the tree trunk, chills crawling across my skin. Was it the cold? Or fear?
"Leaving the psychiatric hospital was the best day of my life because that's when you disappeared. I don't know how long your absence will remain a secret. For now, you're abroad—like you boasted. No one's looking for you. No one misses you. Everyone hates you. If you'd been even half decent, maybe someone would care…"
It felt like a nightmare I couldn't wake from. I pinched my arm. This was real.
My breath hitched. Panic clawed at my throat. I was terrified.
I'd just heard my boyfriend talking to the ghosts of the parents he killed a year ago—buried deep in these woods.
Weakness flooded through me. I felt like I was slipping away. Lightning split the sky, and the last thing I saw was Felix's face—twisted, otherworldly, like a demon's.
Then, everything went black.